The expansile nature of this lesion may be very striking and the bone may be many times larger than normal.
Aneurysmal bone cyst presents in the second and third decade.
There may be a history of trauma and some have postulated a causative link between trauma and this lesion. Patients complain of pain and a slow growing mass.Lesions are located on the surface of the bone as well as in the metaphysis or epiphysis. Plain radiographs show an expansile lesion with internal septae or longitudinal striations.
Most lesions can be treated with currettage and application of a high-speed burr.

This tumor has been given the names benign fibrous hystiocytoma, fibrous histiocytoma, xanthofibroma, fibroxanthoma of bone, and primary xanthoma of bone. The author of this site prefes the name benign fibrous histiocytoma.
There is no defined age group for this tumor except that patients are generally older than those found with a non-ossifying fibroma.
Clinically, patients report pain from the lesion, often of months or years duration. Pain may be associated with pathological fracture. There may be some local tenderness, but no swelling or mass is seen, and there are no systemic symptoms. There is normally no impairment of the function of the nearby joint. Spinal lesions may cause neurologic defect by pressing on the spinal cord.It has a lytic, loculated appearance with prominent sclerosis of the edges of the lesion.
Treatment consists of careful and complete curettage and filling of the defect with graft material, bone cement, or other suitable bone void filler.